Coral reefer
Past President
I always run gfo in the reactor, and usually just put Carbon in a media bag in the sump
Felicia's 40B Predator Reef
- Thread starter FeliciaLynn
- Start date
wpeterson
Guest
If you want to run carbon and GFO in a TLF reactor, I'd get a third mesh spacer/filter pad. You can put the carbon on the bottom and then put the extra mesh between the carbon and the GFO. That should let the GFO tumble on the top segment without chewing up the carbon.
I have a bunch of spare parts if you want an extra foam separator or break the spacer screw.
I have a bunch of spare parts if you want an extra foam separator or break the spacer screw.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Finally finished organizing the inside of the stand/sump area.
I also got around to completely emptying the old tank and getting it off of my kitchen floor. I put it out on the street as a "Free to take" item, which is a common thing to do around here. The end of an era!
I also got around to completely emptying the old tank and getting it off of my kitchen floor. I put it out on the street as a "Free to take" item, which is a common thing to do around here. The end of an era!
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Thank you! I'm glad the anthias seem to be settling in well. They're eating well for me, which is definitely exciting since from what I've heard it can be hard to get anthias eating.Your tank is looking good. Anthias are cool.
Is Lily working on a catnip buzz?
Lily definitely loves her catnip. Those wine bottle toys have catnip in them
FeliciaLynn
Guest
I always thought carbon was much more efficient in a reactor than in a media bag.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Thanks! Trying to keep it neat and organized this time around! We'll see how long it stays that way, haha!Nice tidy sump you've got there!
It's funny. Just after I posted about not tumbling carbon, I see a Marine Depot, IIRC, vid saying to tumble. Who can you trust??
Yeah I always thought you couldn't tumble the mix either for the reason you stated and then I saw that Marine Depot video the other day and thought I was wrong. Gotta love the conflicting opinions in the hobby sometimes. I'm thinking I'll mix them and then just try to minimize any tumbling in the Phosban reactor.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
I was thinking that, but I saw a Marine Depot video where they just mix the two together in a Phosban reactor and then just keep the flow low. I think I may try that for a while and see how it works. Thanks for offering the spare pad though! I'll let you know how this works!
FeliciaLynn
Guest
I'm going to have it do Alk and Ca and then the other two channels are going to be foods. I have Acropower (coral food) for one channel and then I got this Brightwell product called Microvore that is a liquid plankton diet for anthias. I figured since anthias prefer several small feedings throughout the day, that dosing food for them would work well. I still need to calibrate and program the doser and then get it up and running. I've been procrastinating since I figure it will be a bit of a headache until I get it all dialed in.
And yes, it was definitely a bit sad to get rid of the old tank. Its served me well for 3 years now. It had actually developed a super slow leak a few months back, so its time had come. Hence why I didn't offer it up to the club or sell it or something.
Tumbling GFO still seems bad.
Pros:
Possibly more efficient.
Maybe. To get tumble right, you may lower flow, which is less efficient.
But it is a bit unclear if efficiency is even a good thing.
You end up with dips/spikes in phosphate as the GFO quickly absorbs the phosphate,
then runs out quicker.
Cons:
Hard to set the right flow.
May generate fine particles.
Pros:
Possibly more efficient.
Maybe. To get tumble right, you may lower flow, which is less efficient.
But it is a bit unclear if efficiency is even a good thing.
You end up with dips/spikes in phosphate as the GFO quickly absorbs the phosphate,
then runs out quicker.
Cons:
Hard to set the right flow.
May generate fine particles.
bluprntguy
Guest
I ran GFO and carbon together in a TLF reactor for a year or so. It's fine to do. You shouldn't be tumbling either of those medias, so just keep your flow low enough so that nothing tumbles. I ended up switching to an IM reactor simply because it's so much easier to refill.
aqua-nut
Supporting Member
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Yeah I was wondering if you meant by itself because I've always thought you HAD to tumble GFO to keep it from turning into a big clump. I know that you don't need to tumble it once you mix it with carbon because it will no longer clump.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
This sounds like a good plan! I'll just mix them and keep the flow really low. I didn't consider the IM reactors because they include the pump and are more expensive. I don't need a reactor pump, so it seemed like a waste of money. I'm hoping the TLF reactor isn't too much of a pain to deal with because the BRS reactor was such a pain!
bluprntguy
Guest
I had my TLF reactor hanging outside my sump, so it always spilled water everywhere when changing media. Since yours is hanging inside your sump, it shouldn't be much of a problem. That was really my only complaint about it.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Good to hear! That was one of my issues with the BRS reactor. It was too big to put in my sump and it was messy because of water spilling when I opened it. I'm glad the TLF reactor is little and fits in my sump so I can just open it over the water.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Current view from my couch.
FeliciaLynn
Guest
Nope, the heater controller is set at 78. It's always worked perfectly in the past but since I put it on the new build it seems to be staying too low. I think the heater is struggling with the additional water volume, which is surprising since its a 150 watt heater. I'll have to look into getting a new heater.
Yep, I've thought about that with the fuge light. I've got it close enough to the water that the spread isn't too bad. I figure I'll see what happens and if I start to see algae growth in other places, then I'll put up something to block the light spill over.